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If you’re not planning to use the laptop while commuting, it’s best to completely power it down, says Peter Zaluzny, a technology expert at Choice.
“All you’re doing is putting an additional strain on the equipment when it’s sitting in stand-by or sleep mode, because it’s still operating to some degree. If you don’t need it to be operating, then there’s not really any point having it turned on.,” Zaluzny says.
“Before you leave the office, turn it off. Just let it sit for 30 seconds to a minute to make sure that everything is fully powered down.”
The purpose of sleep mode — where the computer is in a low-power state but not fully shut down — is to be able to boot it up again fast, Zaluzny says.
But even when a laptop is in sleep mode, the computer components are still quietly humming away in the background, he says.
Another factor to consider when commuting with a laptop is the computer hard drive. There are three distinct types — hard disk drives (HDDs), solid disk drives (SDDs) and hybrid disk drives, Zaluzny says.
“If you still have a laptop that has a hard disk drive in it, moving it around even when it’s in stand-by mode can put you at risk of data loss because that’s got moving parts and it likes to be sitting on a flat surface,” he says.
“Solid-state drives don’t have that issue … because they have no moving parts, and hybrid drives might have that issue because they use a combination of both.”
Most modern laptops don’t use HDDs anymore, Zaluzny says, but if your laptop is older than five years, it may still have one.
Does laptop sleep mode drain the battery?
Modern laptops are “fairly good” at power saving and are generally fine to leave on while commuting, but there could be some long-term impacts, says Andrew Cunningham, associate professor in human–computer interaction at Adelaide University.
“In the long run, just having the battery running, even if it’s just a small trickle of power to keep it in sleep mode, will have some sort of effect on laptop batteries,” he says.
According to Zaluzny, the jury is still out on how significantly modern laptops are impacted by being left on stand-by.
“Batteries like to be used, but they also get worn down when they’re used, so it’s a bit of an in-between situation,” he says.
If your laptop battery is getting drained during a trip home from the office, it’s possible that it’s not been set up to go into full stand-by mode when the lid is shut.
“You can search this on the internet … how to check the battery mode, or ask your IT department at work,” Zaluzny says.
Is it OK to put a laptop in a backpack or bag?
Separating the laptop from other items inside your bag and keeping it inside a protective case minimises the risk of physical damage, says Peter Zaluzny, a technology expert at Choice (file image)
Unsplash / A.C.
Bumps and falls can also have an impact on a laptop’s battery life, so packing the laptop inside a backpack is the safest option for commuters, says Cunningham.
“Even slight bumps can do minuscule damage to the battery and over time that will actually degrade its performance,” he says.
Cunningham recommends looking for a high-quality, padded backpack with a suspended laptop pocket.
“The idea is that if you drop the bag or put it on the ground, rather than the edge of the laptop hitting the ground, it’s actually suspended within the bag. So, it has a bit more protection against those big shocks that might damage aspects of the hardware.”
Separating the laptop from other items inside your bag and keeping it inside a protective case minimises the risk of physical damage, such as water leaking onto it from a drink bottle, Zaluzny says.
Overheating should usually not be a risk, unless your laptop is not in a good condition or not set to go to a low power mode when the lid is closed, he says.
The security risks of commute working
If you like to smash out some work while commuting on public transport, the security risk of using public Wi-Fi is also something to consider.
Data points such as public Wi-Fi hotspots can be “an alluring prospect” for cyber criminals because of the high number of people connecting to them at the same time, Zaluzny says.
“It’s just not worth the risk of using public access points like that, unless you absolutely have to and not on a work laptop at all … it’s not worth the risk to your company.”
Cunningham says legitimate public Wi-Fi networks are “fairly secure” nowadays but advises to instead use a portable mobile data connection with a built-in SIM card, or hot-spotting from a mobile phone, ensuring you have enough mobile data.
Or, if you don’t need Wi-Fi for the work you’re doing, switch it off in the settings.
